


Cabin holiday

by Isimile



Series: Fluff Bingo [2]
Category: Gargoyles (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-Unseelie War, Pre-Poly, Snowed In, The Gargoyles Saga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:47:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23285014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isimile/pseuds/Isimile
Summary: After everything that happened, they decide to spend a week away in a cabin, to relax and to perhaps talk about their relationship. They're unexpectedly snowed in, which triggers memories of the Unseelie War.
Relationships: David Xanatos/Janine "Fox" Xanatos, Puck | Owen Burnett/David Xanatos/Janine "Fox" Xanatos
Series: Fluff Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671601
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6
Collections: Just Write! Fluff Bingo, Lock Down Fest, Minions' writings





	Cabin holiday

**Author's Note:**

> I've picked the prompt Cuddling for my free square of my Fluff Bingo Card

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. They’d rented the cabin to get away, to get a chance to recover from all that had happened. The Unseelie War had lasted 18 months. True, Madoc had been in New York even before then and working on his plans but they’d been unaware of the true extent. The war had finally ended 9 months ago but between the two wedding and the council for all gargoyle clans worldwide, they’d been kept busy. Too busy to really deal with what had happened, especially in the final days of the war.

Fox shuddered at the very memory. For five days, they’d believed Owen dead. For five days, she’d thought he’d died for her and Alex. They’d been lucky that he had suspected that the Unseelies would try and take him out before their final attempt to destroy the clan and get the way to return to Avalon and had prepared a spell as precaution.

When David had returned from the council in September, she’d suggested that they spend a week away for their family after Elisa and Goliath’s wedding, in early December. A week away for their whole family, including Owen.

They had decided on a remote cabin for privacy. No matter how discrete a hotel promised their staff to be, they’d rather not risk any interruptions or curious outsiders. It would allow them to have a lesson for her and Alex, perhaps, and talk about their relationship, about what exactly it was between them.

The first two days had been wonderful. Away from New York, from their roles there and everything going on, with work, with the clan, they’d been able to decompress and just enjoy the time together. Alex had been ecstatic at spending the whole day with the three of them and playing outside. The cold didn’t seem to bother him.

Now, however, it wasn’t just the cold they had to deal with. The three of them stood at the French window in the living room, staring out. It had snowed heavily overnight, so much so that the snow was at least a meter high, too high to easily get out and certainly too high to drive in.

They were basically locked in.

“Sir!”

Fox turned, wondering what had made Owen switch back to the more formal appellation when he’d been very good at calling them by their name here, as she had asked. David had gone pale and was swaying slightly. They quickly supported him, one on either side, and helped him to the couch.

“Daddy?” Alex asked, confused and worried. He slowly followed, staring at them with wide eyes.

“It’s fine, Alexander,” Owen assured him, briefly looking to their boy.

“It’s nothing, I’m fine,” David agreed, though his voice was not as strong as usual.

Fox did not believe him, not with the way he was gripping Owen’s arm. “David.”

David was silent for a long moment, then asked: “It’s regular snow?”

“Yes,” Owen replied calmly.

“It’s not a return of-?”

Of the Fimbul Winter, the magical unnaturally cold and long winter the Unseelies had brought on, the one that had ended with Madoc’s death. The end of which had represented the end of the war to them. Fox hadn’t even thought of it.

“It’s a natural snow fall,” Owen confirmed calmly.

“Good. Good.” David nodded to himself. As the only member of their family who was completely human, he had no way to tell for himself. He shivered slightly, only now becoming aware of how much colder it was, compared to yesterday.

Owen and Fox exchanged a look over his head. “I’ll go get our coffee. And Alex’ hot chocolate, of course,” Fox said.

“Come here, Alex.” Owen held his arm out, letting Alex brace himself on it to climb up on the couch and onto David’s lap. “We’ll spend the morning here.”

“Okay.” Alex happily cuddled closer to his father.

“I will be right back.”

Fox returned with their hot drinks and placed them on the small side table beside the couch, then sat down beside David, resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping an arm around Alex’ back.

David frowned a little, gently cupping Alex’ cheek, then placed his hand on his forehead. “Does he feel a little hot to you?”

Fox lifted her head a little and copied him. “No?”

“He probably is warmer but it’s not a fever,” Owen said, returning from the bedrooms with two of the woollen blankets that had been supplied but which they had kept in the cupboards for now. “He is instinctively using his magic to increase his body temperature because of the cold.” He met Fox’ eyes. “I expect you both are.” He placed one blanket across their laps, letting it hang down over their legs, the other he placed on the arm of the couch, in case it was needed later, then sat down on David’s other side, making sure their sides touched as much as possible.

“I’m still having trouble with using my magic,” Fox reminded him.

“With _consciously_ using your magic,” Owen corrected. “This is unconscious, instinctive use.”

David relaxed into them, letting his mind wander. Normally he was fascinated by Owen explaining more about magic but he was tired and the warmth the other three were giving off was making him drowsy. It also was not just the physical warmth. Being so close, feeling their presence, their warmth, their breathing, it was reassuring. It reminded him that the war was truly over, that they had all made it through alive. That their loss had been only temporary.

Fox smiled crookedly at her sleeping son and husband. “I had no idea...” She trailed off. She had hoped that, once they had privacy and time, they might talk about their relationship. They were a family, the four of them, but what exactly did that mean? There was no doubt that they loved one another, not after what they’d felt when they’d believed Owen dead, but she’d figured it was about time they talked about what kind of love.

Now there was something else they needed to talk about first and she’d had no idea.

Perhaps because, for some reason, the war had not affected her as much.

Owen lightly nudged David’s head so it rested against him instead of awkwardly back against the couch then met her gaze. It was often all too easy to forget that he was not human but when he looked at you like that, she remembered how much older he was. “We are all still working through what happened,” he said, “but it is about time we did so together, instead of on our own.”

“What do you mean?”

He held out his hand to her. When she accepted it, she felt a jolt, like static. “What was that?”

“It’s a stronger version on what you and Alex are doing. What I am doing. Using magic to check on the others, how they’re doing, if they’re safe. It’s normal but the frequency has increased during the war.”

It was silly but knowing she was doing so was reassuring. In her head, she knew that comparing reactions to trauma didn’t make sense but whoever suggested emotions were logical was lying. “Will you teach us about it later? About how to be aware of how I’m using it.”

“Of course.”

And who knew, perhaps there would be time for defining later after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I may write a sequel or second chapter where they actually talk about their relationship, I haven't quite decided yet.


End file.
